Snap Counts: Jonah Jackson, Josh Myers and Jordan Fuller Among Ohio State's Playing Time Leaders for 2019, 59 Buckeyes Play in Season-Ending Fiesta Bowl Loss to Clemson

As the season came to an end with a 29-23 loss to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State played exactly 14 games for the third season in a row, giving us a frame of comparison to past years for how many snaps each Buckeye played this year.

Unlike the 2018 season, when Ohio State played many more close games over the course of the year and kept its starters in for four quarters of each of its final 10 games of the season, no Buckeyes hit the 1,000-snap mark in 2019 – but a few players came close.

Offensively, left guard Jonah Jackson and center Josh Myers led the way by each playing 925 snaps for the 2019 season, with right guard Wyatt Davis (922) and quarterback Justin Fields (917) not far behind. Because they did not rotate out of the lineup as often as they had in the past two seasons, running back J.K. Dobbins (740) and wide receiver K.J. Hill (683) also each played more individual offensive snaps than any Ohio State player at their respective positions did in either 2017 or 2018.

Defensively, safety Jordan Fuller led the way with 746 snaps played for the 2019 season – still fewer than six Buckeye defenders, including himself, in 2018 – while linebacker Malik Harrison played 701 snaps, cornerback Jeff Okudah played 693 and cornerback Damon Arnette (608), linebacker Pete Werner (593), defensive end Chase Young (577) and cornerback Shaun Wade (529) also cracked the 500-snap mark.

As for the Fiesta Bowl itself, there weren’t any major surprises in playing time for the game against Clemson. As you would expect from a game that was decided in the final minute, Ohio State stuck only with its core players in its rotations on offense and defense, but 59 Buckeyes – the same as their previous season-lows against Michigan State and Penn State – saw the field in one capacity or another.

Below, we break down how Ohio State divided up its playing time in its most important and final game of the year, followed by the season-ending Snap Tracker tables showing exactly how many snaps each Buckeye played on offense or defense in 2019.

All snap counts were compiled by Eleven Warriors and should be considered unofficial. It is not always possible to see all players on special teams units from TV camera angles for special teams units, so exact snap counts for those units are not listed.

Quarterbacks

Justin Fields: 89

Fields played his highest snap count of the entire season in the Fiesta Bowl, which was just the fourth game all season – but the third in Ohio State’s final four games – that he took every snap at quarterback. He completed 30 passes on 46 attempts, both by far his season-highs, for 320 passing yards and one touchdown and two interceptions, while he also had 14 rushing attempts – his second-highest total of the season – for 13 yards.

Running Backs

J.K. Dobbins: 66
Master Teague: 23

Dobbins played his third-highest snap count of the season against Clemson, and had 221 total yards from scrimmage on 18 carries and six catches, but Teague played more than he had in any of the Buckeyes’ other more competitive games. That was partially because Dobbins suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss the end of the second quarter and part of the third quarter, but Teague also played 13 snaps early in the second quarter before Dobbins was hurt. He finished the game with nine rushing yards on seven carries.

Master Teague, the frontrunner to succeed J.K. Dobbins as Ohio State's starting running back next season, played 23 snaps in his place against Clemson.

Wide Receivers

K.J. Hill: 77
Binjimen Victor: 54
Chris Olave: 45
Austin Mack: 44
Garrett Wilson: 35
Jaylen Harris: Special teams only
Xavier Johnson: Special teams only
Demario McCall: Special teams only
Jameson Williams: Special teams only

Hill played a career-high 77 snaps in his final game as a Buckeye, as Ohio State had three receivers on the field for all but 12 of its offensive snaps against Clemson, and Hill was in the lineup for at slot receiver for all of those plays. He led the Buckeyes for the night with six catches for 67 yards.

Olave – who caught Fields’ only touchdown pass on a 23-yard fourth-down throw in the fourth quarter, but made a route-running mistake that led to the game-sealing interception in the final minute of the contest – started over Mack at Z receiver for a third consecutive game to finish the season, but both ended up playing almost the same number of snaps. Victor started at X receiver as he did all season and played his third-highest snap count of his career, but Wilson was also called upon for regular playing time, setting him up for a likely starting role next year as a sophomore.

Tight Ends

Jeremy Ruckert: 47
Luke Farrell: 43
Rashod Berry: 7
Jake Hausmann: 4
Mitch Rossi: Special teams only

Ohio State stuck mostly with its top two tight ends in its biggest game of the year, as Ruckert led the position group with a career-high 47 snaps while Farrell also played his third-highest snap total of the season. They were on the field together for nine of the Buckeyes’ 12 two-tight end sets in the game.

Berry’s career came to a quiet end, as he played only seven snaps on offense and did not see any playing time on the defensive line as he had in some previous games. His seven offensive snaps were his fewest in a game since 2017, while Hausmann’s four snaps matched his season-low.

Jeremy Ruckert played a career-high 47 snaps in the Fiesta Bowl.

Offensive Linemen

Thayer Munford: 89
Jonah Jackson: 89
Josh Myers: 89
Wyatt Davis: 89
Branden Bowen: 89
Dawand Jones: Special teams only
Harry Miller: Special teams only
Nicholas Petit-Frere: Special teams only
Kevin Woidke: Special teams only

All five starting offensive linemen played every offensive snap in the final game of the season, marking a new season-high in snaps played for all of them (and career-highs for everyone but Munford). All five starters up front finish the year with more than 800 offensive snaps played in 2019.

Defensive Ends

Chase Young: 64
Tyreke Smith: 31
Zach Harrison: 25
Tyler Friday: 15

Young continued to be a workhorse in what will presumably be his final game as a Buckeye, as he was on the field for every snap with the exception of one three-play series in the first quarter. He closed out the season by playing at least 63 snaps in each of Ohio State’s final four games of the year and in five games overall, also including the Buckeyes’ October win over Michigan State.

Harrison made his second start of the season in his final game as a freshman and tied his second-highest snap count of the season. Smith was the fourth defensive end to enter the game, after Harrison and Friday, but ended up playing his highest snap total of the season. Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who had been in the rotation for all of Ohio State’s first 13 games of the year, did not play at all against Clemson.

Defensive Tackles

Jashon Cornell: 43  
Davon Hamilton: 41
Robert Landers: 28
Antwuan Jackson: 9
Tommy Togiai: 7
Haskell Garrett: 3
Jerron Cage: Special teams only

Ohio State leaned heavily on its three fifth-year senior defensive tackles against Clemson, as Cornell and Hamilton both played a majority of snaps while Landers also played a season-high 28 snaps off the bench. Hamilton saw playing time at both his starting position of nose tackle and some snaps at 3-technique alongside Landers and Togiai. 

Jackson also rotated in for occasional playing time at 3-technique, while Garrett – who played only sparingly down the stretch of the year after missing the Penn State game with a foot injury – checked in the game for only one series in the third quarter.

Linebackers

Malik Harrison: 67
Pete Werner: 50
Tuf Borland: 34
Baron Browning: 33
Justin Hilliard: 3
Tommy Eichenberg: Special teams only
Dallas Gant: Special teams only
Cade Kacherski: Special teams only
Teradja Mitchell: Special teams only
Jahsen Wint: Special teams only

Harrison played more than 60 defensive snaps for the fourth game in a row to finish out his Ohio State career, as he was on the field for every one of the Buckeyes’ defensive plays against Clemson.

Werner was on the field for all 48 plays that Ohio State ran out of its base defense, as well as two third-down plays in 3-3-5 nickel packages, at strongside linebacker. In a role that Brendon White would have perhaps been in line to play before he fell out of the rotation and ultimately opted to transfer, Werner also dropped back deep to play safety on a scattering of plays throughout the game.

Borland and Browning continued to rotate at middle linebacker, as they did all season, with Browning also playing in all nickel packages. Hilliard joined Harrison, Werner and either Borland or Browning on the field for three plays in which the Buckeyes put their four-linebacker package in the game.

Cornerbacks

Damon Arnette: 67
Jeff Okudah: 66
Amir Riep: 41
Shaun Wade: 23
Cameron Brown: 1
Marcus Williamson: Special teams only

Arnette was on the field for every play of his final game as a Buckeye, while Okudah checked out of the lineup for just one play, on which Brown filled in. Sevyn Banks, who had been the first outside cornerback off the bench in some previous game, did not play against Clemson and was reportedly battling a fever.

Wade likely would have played the vast majority of snaps, too, but he was ejected from the game in the second quarter after being called for a targeting penalty. The Buckeyes turned to Riep to take Wade’s spot in the lineup at slot cornerback, and Riep played every snap for the remainder of the game.

Amir Riep played 41 snaps, his second-highest snap total of the season, in place of Shaun Wade at slot cornerback against Clemson.

Safeties

Jordan Fuller: 67
Josh Proctor: 19
Marcus Hooker: Special teams only

Fuller was on the field for every defensive snap of the final game of his Ohio State career, while Proctor joined him in the lineup for 19 plays – his second-highest snap count of the year – in two-safety nickel packages. On many of those plays, either Fuller or Proctor lined up closer to the scrimmage than the other, though there were a few plays on which they both lined up as deep safeties. 

Hooker, who had seen defensive playing time in seven games this year including its previous two games against Michigan and Wisconsin, played only on special teams in the Fiesta Bowl.

Field Goals/Extra Points

Blake Haubeil (kicker)
Drue Chrisman (holder)
Liam McCullough (long snapper)
Luke Farrell (wing)
Harry Miller (rocker)
Nicholas Petit-Frere (tackle)
Josh Myers (guard)
Jerron Cage (guard)
Dawand Jones (tackle)
Kevin Woidke (rocker)
Jeremy Ruckert (wing)

Petit-Frere replaced Joshua Alabi, who didn’t play at all in his final game as a Buckeye, on the field goal and extra point unit from the Big Ten Championship Game. The rest of the unit remained the same from previous weeks for the final game of the year. 

Kickoffs

Blake Haubeil (kicker)
Josh Proctor (gunner)
Amir Riep (gunner)
Jahsen Wint (gunner)
Justin Hilliard (gunner)
Tommy Eichenberg (gunner)
Cade Kacherski (gunner)
Jameson Willliams (gunner)
Marcus Hooker (gunner)
Cameron Brown (gunner)
Marcus Williamson (gunner)

Proctor and Brown joined the kickoff coverage unit for the Fiesta Bowl in place of Dallas Gant and Sevyn Banks, while the rest of the unit remained the same from the Big Ten Championship Game. Eichenberg changed his number from 41 to 35 for the Clemson game to avoid wearing the same number as Proctor.

Kickoff Returns

Demario McCall (returner)
K.J. Hill (blocker)
Xavier Johnson (blocker)
Mitch Rossi (blocker)
Teradja Mitchell (blocker)
Dallas Gant (blocker)
Jeremy Ruckert (blocker)
Marcus Hooker (blocker)
Jahsen Wint (blocker)
Jaylen Harris (blocker)
Binjimen Victor (blocker)

Ohio State did not make any changes to its kickoff return unit against Clemson from its previous two games. McCall did not return any of Clemson’s kickoffs.

Punts

Drue Chrisman (punter)
Liam McCullough (long snapper)
Jake Hausmann (upback)
Tuf Borland (upback)
Luke Farrell (wing)
Malik Harrison (guard)
Dallas Gant (guard)
Justin Hilliard (tackle)
Jordan Fuller (tackle)
Austin Mack (gunner)
Chris Olave (gunner)

Ohio State didn’t make any changes to its punt team against Clemson from its previous two games against Michigan and in the Big Ten Championship Game.

Punt Blocks/Returns

Garrett Wilson (returner)
Marcus Williamson (rusher/blocker)
Jameson Williams (rusher/blocker)
Jahsen Wint (rusher/blocker)
Austin Mack (rusher/blocker)
Teradja Mitchell (rusher/blocker)
Justin Hilliard (rusher/blocker)
Marcus Hooker (rusher/blocker)
Dallas Gant (rusher/blocker)
Chris Olave (rusher/blocker)
Cameron Brown (rusher/blocker)

Williamson, Mack, Hilliard and Olave replaced Sevyn Banks, Xavier Johnson, Cade Kacherski and Josh Proctor on the punt block/return team against Clemson. Wilson had just three yards on two punt returns against the Tigers, but this unit made one of the costliest mistakes of the game in the third quarter when Brown was penalized for roughing the punter, keeping Ohio State’s defense on the field and ultimately leading to a Clemson touchdown.

RELATED Revisiting The 10 Agonizing “What-If” Plays That Will Haunt Ohio State After 29-23 Fiesta Bowl Loss To Clemson

Field Goal Block

Pete Werner (lineman)
Tommy Togiai (lineman)
Robert Landers (lineman)
Jashon Cornell or DaVon Hamilton (lineman)
Chase Young (lineman)
Malik Harrison (lineman)
Tuf Borland (lineman/safety)
Damon Arnette or Cameron Brown (cornerback)
Jeff Okudah or Cameron Brown (cornerback)
Jordan Fuller (safety)
Shaun Wade or Amir Riep (safety)

Ohio State didn’t make any drastic changes to its field goal block team against Clemson, using only Buckeyes who also saw playing time on defense in that capacity against the Tigers.